Michael_Elliott The Dark (1979)* 1/2 (out of 4)A former convict turned reporter (William Devane) sees that his daughter has been brutally mutilated so he sets out to try and find the killer as does a detective (Richard Jaeckel) working the case. It turns out that a space alien has landing on Earth and is doing the brutal murders.THE DARK has an interesting production history that is actually a lot more interesting than the film itself. Originally Tobe Hooper was to direct this film and he got several days into the production when he either quite or got fired. The somewhat notorious John 'Bud' Cardos took over the production and the end result is a rather tame sci-fi picture that's biggest problem is the fact that it lives up to the title.I say that because this film was shot way too dark and often times you can't even tell what's going on. I mean, I'm all for movies keeping the monster in shadows and what not but the problem here is that whenever the alien goes on the attack it's so dark that you can't see anything. Or, at least, you can't see anything too clear. The other big problem with the picture is the fact that it drags so slowly that the 90-minute running time seems double that. There are non-stop scenes of people talking and fighting yet none of it is very entertaining.It's really too bad that the film is so lame and doesn't feature that good of an alien or gore effects because the cast is actually pretty good. Devane is always worth watching and he turns in a nice performance here. Jaeckel is also very good in his role as is Jacquelyn Hyde and Keenan Wynn in their small roles. You can also look quick for Casey Kasem and Vivian Blaine. Who knows what might have happened with the film had Hooper stayed on but as it stands, THE DARK isn't a very good movie and it's not nearly the best "alien run amok" movies from this period.

merklekranz I first became aware of this film because of the William Devane factor. Unfortunately Devane's character is extremely "boorish". All is not lost however because of the eclectic cast. The story is a mish-mash of "Jack the Ripper" and sci fi, with neither angle very impressive. What I do like is the quite sharp and often darkly amusing dialog. Overall the acting is acceptable, with Jaquelyn Hyde giving a standout supporting performance as a "medium" who can predict where the monster will strike next. You might remember her as "Mrs. Blair" in Woody Allen's hilarious "Take the Money and Run". With Richard Jaeckel, Keenan Wynn, and Cathy Lee Crosby also contributing, "The Dark" is almost saved from being a "bomb", but not quite. - MERK

Scott LeBrun Director John "Bud" Cardos, who'd given us the superior "nature strikes back" thriller "Kingdom of the Spiders", proved up to the task of replacing original director Tobe Hooper on this mostly routine but basically entertaining sci-fi / horror tale. The original concept for the movie was that of a killer zombie, but after poor screenings, it was decided to make the killer an alien and add a bunch of cheese ball laser effects.The story is that after the alien has savagely murdered his daughter, an author, Roy Warner (the amusingly cast William Devane), teams up with an ambitious TV newswoman, Zoe Owens (Cathy Lee Crosby) to track the monster down. The detectives on the case (Richard Jaeckel, Biff Elliot) can't seem to make any progress, but providing a substantial amount of assistance to Roy and Zoe is the psychic character De Renzy (Jacquelyn Hyde - now *there's* a name for you), who believes she knows who one of the aliens' victims will be.The sci-fi element provides just the right touch here, generating a fair amount of chuckles when we start to see the creatures' modus operandi. John Arthur Morrill handles the slick Panavision photography, while Roger Kellaway supplies a score that's quite a hoot. It features some decidedly over the top "whispering". The special effects are fun, and the pacing adequate. The best part has to be the climactic action when the alien unleashes hell on the cops that are trying to take it down.The actors are all good, particularly Jaeckel and Devane in his change of pace role. Keenan Wynn plays Crosby's boss, Casey Kasem is a pathologist, Vivian Blaine appears as a high society type, seven foot four inch John Bloom plays the titular murderer, and Warren J. Kemmerling is the typical police boss who demands that Jaeckel and Elliot produce some results. Look for the following people in bit parts: Vernon Washington ("Friday the 13th: A New Beginning") as a victim, Philip Michael Thomas of 'Miami Vice' fame as an outspoken youth, and none other than Paris Hiltons' mom Kathy Hilton as the requisite first person to die. Angelo Rossitto has an uncredited cameo as a news vendor.If you're like this viewer and have a weakness for movies like this, you're sure to have a good time with it.Seven out of 10.

Ralphus2 With B-grade 70s/80s horror, like "The Dark", you never expect a cinematic masterpiece. You don't expect brilliant dialogue and pacing and Oscar-worthy acting. And it's just as well, because "The Dark" lives up to all lack of expectations.The dialogue is so pathetically cheesy. Lots of glib, snappy, clichéd lines; lines delivered for their 'that's what a hard-nosed cop says' value rather than their relevance to the context in which they occur. Notably the lines delivered by a hilariously cornball Richard Jaeckel as Mooney--especially when engaging with his constantly eating sidekick (another cops cliché).It's clear that this film was re-edited to make it something other than it was originally intended to be. The sequence of events, the way characters become involved suddenly, the appearance of certain characters in scenes where they don't really belong--at least not until later; it's all so amateurishly jumbled. And all is accompanied by a ridiculous "soundtrack" featuring some garbled Spanish-sounding words and a tacky, ominous "The Dark...nessss". Ridiculous! Cathy Lee Crosby brings all her plasticky bodaciousness to her role and William Devane (pre-jowls--although you can see the creases at the corners of his mouth that were soon to evolve into his most notable feature; surely those jowls are worthy of their own IMDb listing!) gives the best performance I've ever seen of an aging divorced hippie ex-convict-cum-crime novelist whose daughter has been beheaded by a mutant alien zombie mangler.Great B-grade fare! No. No, it isn't. It's awful!